White Women, Race Matters (Gender, Racism, Ethnicity)

Book Cover......Page 1
Half-Title......Page 2
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Acknowledgments......Page 8
1 Introduction: Points of Origin, Points of Departure......Page 10
Points of Origin......Page 11
What’s in a Name?......Page 14
Feminism: Personal, Political, Theoretical......Page 16
Theorizing Race......Page 19
The Imperial Legacy and the Construction of Whiteness: A Note on Colonial Discourses......Page 24
The Scope of the Study......Page 26
Conclusion......Page 29
Vital Statistics......Page 31
The Researcher and Power......Page 37
Racism and Taboo: Problems of Initiating Interviews......Page 39
Interview and Dialogue......Page 42
Experience and Memory: An Interview Is Not the Telling of a Life......Page 48
3 Growing Up White: The Social Geography of Race......Page 51
Beth Ellison: An “Apparently All-White” Childhood......Page 54
Patricia Bowen: Race Conflict and “Segregation”......Page 59
Clare Traverso: Race Difference as a Filter for Perception......Page 64
Sandy Alvarez......Page 70
Louise Glebocki......Page 74
Conclusion......Page 78
4 Race, Sex, and Intimacy I: Mapping a Discourse......Page 80
Racialized Masculinities…......Page 87
…and Racialized Femininities......Page 94
Border Infractions and Shifting Ground: Images of Interracial Couples and Children......Page 104
5 Race, Sex, and Intimacy II: Interracial Couples and Interracial Parenting......Page 112
Border Infractions: Rejections, Negotiations, Symbolic Resolutions......Page 113
Racism: The External Force......Page 121
Racism: The Rebound Effect......Page 123
Racism: The Pressures Within......Page 125
“Difference” Revisited......Page 136
What about the Children?......Page 137
Conclusion......Page 147
6 Thinking Through Race......Page 149
Color Evasion: Dodging “Difference”......Page 154
Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Difference and Power Evasion......Page 160
Race Cognizance: Rethinking Race, Rethinking Power......Page 169
Race Cognizance: Transforming Silence into Language…......Page 172
…and Language into Action......Page 188
Conclusion......Page 202
7 Questions of Culture and Belonging......Page 205
Whiteness As an “Unmarked” Cultural Category......Page 208
Whiteness Inflected: Other Modes of Belonging......Page 218
The Politics of Belonging: A Note on “Salience”......Page 228
Ashkenazi Jewish Women’s Narratives......Page 229
Conclusion......Page 243
Epilogue: Racism, Antiracism, and the Meaning of Whiteness......Page 251
Appendix The Women Who Were Interviewed......Page 259
Lisbeth Poirer (1967) 5/1/86......Page 260
Cathy Thomas (1960) 2/10/85......Page 261
Patricia Bowen (1958) 10/20/84......Page 262
Louise Glebocki (1958) 3/21/86......Page 263
Sharon Ellison (1954) 10/12/85......Page 264
Clare Traverso (1954) 6/15/85......Page 265
Helen Standish (1950) 2/22/86......Page 266
Debby Rothman (1949) 9/25/85......Page 267
Frieda Kazen (1945) 8/8/85......Page 268
Eve Schraeger (1944) 11/13/85......Page 269
Margaret Phillips (1940) 10/16/85......Page 270
Joan Van Buren (1931) 6/5/86......Page 271
Ginny Rodd (1930) 4/14/86......Page 272
Irene Esterley (1926?) 5/13/86......Page 273
Marjorie Hoffman (1905) 9/24/85......Page 274
Dora Hauser (1900) 2/21/86......Page 275
Notes......Page 277
Bibliography......Page 293
Index......Page 300